Stargate: Pentavus
by Porphyric Hemophiliac
Summary: A new storyline-A new crew goes to the capital of the Stargate Network-A city called Pentavus. Now with Chapter 12 and epilogue!
1. Location

Pentavus

By Porphyric Hemophiliac

Type: Crossover

Series: STARGÅTE SG-1

Rating: PG-13 for language

Synopsis: Find out for yourself

Spoilers: SG1 is season 8.

Copyright: All SG-1 characters and places and stuff are property of MGM Studios.

I know I have a hard time finishing things. But here I go.

Let the games begin...

O'Neill sat, pencil in hand. He couldn't miss this time. He couldn't.

He reared back and let it fly. The pencil soared up and stuck in the fiberglass ceiling tile.

"Bullseye."

The door opened. There stood Daniel Jackson, holding his notebook, textbook, translation book, and a stack of papers that could easily have been a transcript of _War and Peace_.

O'Neill raised his eyebrows. "Yes, Daniel?"

"I have to talk to you about something."

O'Neill again raised his eyebrows to the point that they were in danger of disappearing into his hair. "This early? I thought you'd need a few more hours and a couple hundred more cups of coffee first."

Jackson gave him a very sour look. "Listen, Jack. You remember those scrolls I found of P3S-101?"

"Yep."

"Well," he said, dropping the _War and Peace_-sized stack of papers onto the desk with a THUMP, "The scrolls speak of an outpost—no, no, more like a _library_, that the Ancients used as a sort of a capital. The Washington D.C. of the Stargate network, so to speak."

"So?"

"_SO?_" Daniel squeaked, his voice somewhere near a high D, "This could be _it_, the most important Stargate discovery EVER!!!"

Jack leaned in, obviously not as 'enthuzed' as Daniel. "Let me guess...an eight chevron code? Remember that our ZPM no longer works."

Daniel grinned. "That's the best part. Let's say that you need information on a phone number. What do you do?"

"Look in the phone book."

"And if you didn't have one?"

"Look on the web."

"Jack!"

"What?"

"Haven't you ever dialed 0 for information?"

Jack was startled by this. "Do you mean to say that this is a ONE chevron code?"

"Exactly. You use the point of origin."

"In the first chevron?"

Jackson grinned so wide he looked like he was internally hemorrhaging. "No. You use the _ninth _Chevron."

There was a long silence as Jack thought this over. "Is it possible?"

"Carter says so. If we reprogram the generators to all point to the ninth chevron, you can power it. Then dial the ninth chevron at HOME, and it should lead us straight to the capital of the universe...what the scrolls call Pentavus."

"Pentavus?"

"Pentavus."

Jack thought a minute and then sighed. "What are we waiting for? Let's get moving!"


	2. The Ninth Chevron

Pentavus

By Porphyric Hemophiliac

Chapter 2

O'Neill sat down at the long table in the conference room. Surrounding him were SG-1, SG-2, and SG-7.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began reluctantly, as if he hated to hear himself make a formal intro, "We must discuss the topic of Pentavus."

"Well," Carter said thoughtfully, "Because this may, like the Atlantis mission, be a one-way trip, I believe that it would be best to not send a designated SG team. We should probably form a new Pentavus reconnaissance unit."

O'Neill nodded. "Agreed. Who do you have in mind for the leader of this unit?"

Carter smiled. "I have just the person..."

Shawn Jordan was asleep at his desk. Even years of Stargate physics study had not given him a good sleeping schedule.

He was awoken by a rap at the door. He got up drowsily and answered it.

"Yeah...what do you—"

He stopped at the woman at his doorstep. "Sam?"

"Hey, Shawn."

He smiled. "Let me guess. I, Major Shawn Jordan, have been recalled to active duty because of something that has to do with the Stargate."

"How'd you guess?"

"Just a hunch. You want to come in?"

Shawn thought about her as she stepped inside. They had been friends for years, ever since he met her in high school. They had gone to the same college and just happened to both work at the SGC—until he had decided to leave and work as a private consultant. They had been friends, nothing more.

"So what's the scoop, Sam?"

"Well..." she explained it to him as he made cocoa for them to help part the chill in the air. As they sat talking and sipping the cocoa, Shawn couldn't help but notice a preoccupation in Sam's eyes that he hadn't seen before.

"Sam, are you okay?"

She looked at him. "Er...yeah. Why?"

"No reason. So, you've finally discovered Pentavus."

"What do you mean, 'finally discovered'?"

He smirked. "I always had a suspicion that there would be a center to the Stargate network—a point of origin for the universe. Maybe form there you can reach other universes. Interesting thought, hm?"

She smiled and sipped her cocoa.

_About two weeks later_

O'Neill stood up in front of the Stargate, the thirty-five brave men and women before him. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said in that same reluctant tone, "You are about to embark on a mission that will go down in history. You..." He trailed off and turned to Major Jordan. "Take it away, Shawn."

"Yes, sir." He replaced O'Neill at the base of the great ring. "You will become today a part of history. There's..." he looked around at the eager faces. "...nothing really much to say here. Basically, we have no idea what will happen here today. So let's get started." He looked up at Walter Davis. "Begin the dialing sequence."

Davis nodded and tapped on the controls, which had been reconfigured to accommodate for the single chevron. The dial began to spin.

The spinning disc landed on the point of origin. There was a shudder and a pulse of energy, and the single chevron locked.

"Chevron...9...encoded," Davis said uncertainly. Indeed, the ninth chevron on the bottom left lit up.

There was a surge of energy which the gate released, forming the 'splash', a large blast of disorganized wormhole energy which welled up and blasted out of the ring. After a moment, it returned to the ring's surface and a large circular puddle appeared—the event horizon.

The M.A.L.P. shuddered and moved up the ramp, into the wormhole.

"Target will reach destination in 5," Davis said over the microphone, "4...3...2...1..."

O'Neill leaned in to the monitor as video connection was established. There was a lot of light, but the screen was covered in a snowy static that blocked much of the visuals.

"What's going on?" O'Neill demanded.

"I don't know, sir," Davis replied, "I can't figure it out..."

Carter interrupted. "Perhaps the destination is so far that the radio signal has a hard time going back and forth."

O'Neill nodded and looked back toward the screen. "Can you see anything?"

Davis squinted at the screen. "I can see some movement, sir...there could be people there. Atmosphere, pressure normal...I don't see anything that looks particularly dangerous..."

O'Neill swatted him lightly on the back of the head. "You said there could be people. You don't think that could be dangerous?" He sighed and looked down at the gate room. So much could be in store.

"SG-Pentavus," He said, "You have clearance. Proceed with caution. LOTS of caution. There may be life on the other side."

The team nodded and began to go through in twos and threes. Soon the bay was empty.

O'Neill crossed his fingers and nodded for Davis to shut it down. As the energy of the gate dissipated, he prayed that the team would be okay.


	3. Welcome

Pentavus

By Porphyric Hemophiliac

Chapter 3

_Note: THIS IS A VERY SHORT CHAPTER!!!_

There was a lot of light, and Major Jordan felt like he was being ripped into a thousand pieces. He had gone through the Stargate before, but it was never like this. He seemed to move faster, go further than ever before.

And then he emerged. The sight was beautiful. The ramp leaving up to the Stargate was made of some translucent glass, ending on a fine stone floor. The walls were made of some silvery material that was covered in long columns of symbols, grouped into groups of six—this was truly a library indeed. The ceiling—oh, the ceiling!—was so high it was hard to make out, but it was covered in a map of what could only be the entire universe—it shifted constantly, showing different regions.

Jordan walked forward as the gate disengaged behind his crew and looked at the wall facing him. There was a large gold door that was obviously the door to the embarkation room. Above that, there was a large block of clear stone there, and behind it—

He raised his gun. There were seven or so people there, each with fiery red hair and eyes that even from this distance he could see were glowing purple. As the men and women who had emerged behind him saw them, they, too, raised their guns.

The large gold door opened, and through it stepped a man. He looked almost human—except that his ears were very long and hung down past his cheeks and his eyes were a bright red.

"Welcome, humans," he said, "to Pentavus."


	4. Embarkation

Pentavus

Chapter 4

The man bowed to the shocked and awe-struck team. "I am Mottè, supreme Keeper of the Chatt'ai. I greet you well." He turned to the men up in the upstairs control room. "Close the gate."

There was a creak, and the team spun and saw a liquid pour down from the ceiling, forming a liquid shell over the ring, a shell that hardened into what looked like solid trinium—_like the iris back at home_, Jordan thought to himself.

Jordan turned back to Mottè. "Why did you let us through? We could easily have been attackers."

Mottè laughed. "My race—that is, the Yaren, possess certain telepathic and precognitive abilities." He smiled warmly. "I sensed your good intentions."

Mottè flicked his finger, and the golden door opened again. "I will show you to the guest rooms. Tomorrow, you will learn more of Pentavus, that I assure you." He led them upstairs and around many corners to a long hallway with many doors. Each door led to an extravagant room, with slivery silky sheets on the bed and beautiful abstract paintings on the walls. It was amazing to look at. There were also enough so that each person could have their own room—a thing that Jordan decided against; he wanted them to sleep in pairs—and the whole thing seemed so welcoming.

Jordan, the only person with a room of his own, as there was an odd number of people, slept with his gun beside him.

"We are a very peaceful race, Shawn Jordan," Mottè explained over breakfast, "We use no weapons and rarely use our defensive powers that the ancients left us. We simply keep the secrets of the great glyphs that are engraved upon our walls."

Jordan nodded. Indeed, the glyphs were everywhere, even in the guest room. They were grouped in what had to be in order by Stargate—there were addresses that he recognized as from earth's gate, and some that had nearby the Pegasus point of origin, hinting that they may be Atlantian addresses.

"A team of ours is doing research on a nearby planet we call Shathro, Shawn Jordan," Mottè continued, "You may join them or you may stay—it is your choice."

Jordan thought at moment. "We should...you know...probably stay..." he trailed off, hinting at the reasons behind his decision.

"I see," Mottè replied earnestly, "You do not yet trust my people. That is your choice, of course. Please, stay, and we will be happy to accommodate you."

The Pentavus city, Jordan noticed, was set up much like the SGC. It was restricted almost exclusively to military personnel, while the civilian population lived in the surrounding land.

"The team will be leaving shortly," Mottè informed Jordan a few hours later. "If you would like to observe the embarkation, you may." Jordan agreed.

A few minutes later, Jordan was up in the control bay. The Pentavus control center used computers similar to the SGC's, with loading and dialing codes and gate simulators. This reminded of his friends Josh and Jason, who often worked on the SGC's dialing computer program.

Mottè looked at the controller. "Begin dialing."

The gate was designed much differently than the one on earth. Instead of a spinning dial, each chevron had below it a small LCD screen, which flipped through the different symbols before finding the correct one and locking onto it.

"Chevron seven is locked," The controller said as the last of the green chevrons' symbols clicked into place.

There was a surge of energy which the gate released as the splash. As it receded, the event horizon formed. Jordan watched as the small team stepped through. Moments later, the controller shut the gate down.

Mottè looked over at Jordan. "All done."

Jordan smiled and was about to leave when an alarm went off. He looked down at the gate. The green chevrons were lighting up very quickly.

"Close the shield!" Mottè shouted. The liquid descended on the gate, hardening into place. In the back of him mind, Jordan wondered how the liquid went back into the ceiling against gravity.

"What's happening?" Jordan asked.

Mottè sighed. "An incoming traveler. I sense evil from them."

As the last chevron lit, there was a large surge of energy as the event horizon formed against the trinium gate. There were a few intense moments before there was a crashing sound as something hit the metal, followed a few seconds later by another crash. Then the gate disengaged.

Jordan looked over at Mottè. "Who could that have been?"

Mottè looked back gravely. "Them." He then walked off.


	5. Explanation

Pentavus

Chapter 5

"Who are they, exactly?" Jordan was both curious and alarmed, but it made sense that a city like Pentavus would have many enemies.

"Yes, Shawn Jordan. We do have many enemies," Mottè was again reading Jordan's mind, "Because of our great Stargate capabilities."

Jordan looked around the conference table. There sat five people besides him and Mottè: George Totus, a fifty-or so man with energy and lots and lots of caffeine; Hallie Colbert, his close friend and colleague, and three of Mottè's people. "Such as?"

Mottè grinned to himself. "Shawn Jordan, you were absolutely correct in your hypothesis that this city acts as a point of origin to the universe. However, because of the programming of the Stargate, we can dial 7 chevrons without a point of origin because the gate knows which point of origin to use. Thus, we can go to any Stargate in this entire universe."

Jordan heard Totus whisper, "Holy Shit!" That was also exactly what Jordan himself was thinking. "I don't get it."

Hallie turned to him. "Okay, Major, think of it like this. The earth Stargate is a 256 computer. Every time you go onto the internet on a 256, you have to input the IP you are going to use. Now, the Pentavus Stargate is like a Pentium 4. Each time you load up the computer, it automatically dials the IP address that you will use. The Pentavus Stargate knows the Point of Origin by the address itself. They must assign, instead of constellations, numbers or values to the symbols. Then, they use the seventh chevron to tell which Stargate to use, because all Stargates are different."

Jordan took all of this in. "Okay," he said, turning to Mottè, "What else?"

"As you have seen, there are many symbols on the walls. There are, in fact, symbols covering every inch of every wall in this great city—these were our ancestors' addresses. They used the city itself as an address book. Now, we have a computer that holds all of our addresses. Since we can dial any Stargate _anywhere_, we have many enemies that want the technology. They want to use Pentavus to be their instrument of destruction. But I fear..." he swallowed quite audibly, "that the end may be near."

Jordan was startled by this. "What do you mean?"

Mottè looked very frightened and leaned in to Jordan. "I fear," he said in a grave whisper, "That they may attack soon. I have seen the future and it looks...bad." He looked up. "Well, we'd better get on to bed, everyone. Sleep well."

As everyone left, Mottè pulled Jordan aside. "Shawn Jordan, I must ask you something."

"Of course."

"If something should happen to Pentavus, I beg you to take over...keep the Gate safe. Will you do this for me?"

There was a long and deadly silence. "Yes, Mottè. I will."


	6. Wrath

Pentavus

Chapter 6

Jordan could sense it.

He knew that something was wrong before he heard the alarm. Before he heard Mottè over the speaker, calling for an evacuation of Pentavus. Before he heard the screams.

Something was wrong.

Jordan could sense it. He leapt out of bed and quickly dressed. As he was about to step outside his quarters, the alarm went off. On reflex, he grabbed his gun and ran to the other rooms to gather his team. Within five minutes they were ready to go.

However, Jordan had a feeling that they would be five minutes too late.

As they sprinted along the corridor, they noticed the many Yaren bodies littering the floor. The air smelled of death, mixed together with...something else he couldn't recognize.

They arrived in the control room minutes later. Mottè was there, intercom microphone in his hand. He looked very pale and his purple-red eyes looked greenish.

"Shawn Jordan..." he croaked, "The time has come..."

Jordan dropped his gun and rushed to Mottè's side. "What happened, Mottè?"

"Our enemies have dropped a gas bomb onto Pentavus...a molecular compound that deteriorates out immune and motor skill systems. We die within minutes of breathing it in. It is too—" He began to cough. When his fit subsided, he looked at George, Hallie and Shawn. "I grant you the powers of my people."

Jordan suddenly felt a rush of thought. This was not his thought, though. He was feeling the emotions of others. Sadness and helplessness from Hallie. Confusion from George. And grim determination from Mottè.

Then he heard something in his mind. Mottè's voice rang clear: _Find the Oratrion, the oracle of the universe. He resides on the planet P7X-BB3. I wish you the best of luck. Farewell._

Jordan had barely begun to sort his mind out when Mottè, in the leather chair, went rigid. He was dead.

Shawn looked up from his fallen friends with watery eyes. Mottè had foreseen all of this, but he had not expressed the magnitude of the destruction that would be wrought on Pentavus.

He looked up at the team. "George, Hallie, and I are now Pentavus-1. We are going to see this...Oratrion. Hallie, figure out how this DHD works. Then let's go."


	7. Quest

Pentavus

Chapter 7

"Sir." Hallie looked shocked as she looked at the glowing crystal keyboard and the LCD computer screen.

Jordan walked over. "What is it?"

Then he saw exactly what it was. The keyboard, the controls, even the monitor, all had English labels.

Hallie looked up. "Ancient technology?"

"Probably. Can you dial?"

"Definitely. I'm accessing the database..."

The screen popped up with the address for P7X-BB3 with a little button labeled "Dial?"

Hallie had a lieutenant stand by to click the button as Pentavus-1 headed down to the gate room.

Jordan looked up at the control room. "Begin dialing."

The first chevron began to flick through the symbols before it stopped. "Chevron 1 encoded."

Hallie checked that her gun's safety was off.

"Chevron 2 encoded."

George sniffed and fought back a tear. Their friends they had barely met were dead.

"Chevron 3 encoded."

Jordan looked over a Hallie, a friend through many adventures at the SGC.

"Chevron 4 encoded."

He wished there was something he could do to repay her for sticking by him for so long.

"Chevron 5 encoded."

Beads of sweat dripped down Jordan's brow. He was nervous and eager to make these unnamed enemies pay for their crimes.

"Chevron 6 is...holding?"

"Makes sense," Hallie said, "That the address would have to be temporarily suspended until the processor located the Stargate whose address we are dialing from for the seventh chevron. You know, instead of the point of origin."

"Chevron 6 is encoded."

"Now it has so locate the gate's coordinates..."

"Chevron 7 is...located. Chevron 7 is locked."

The splash formed and the event horizon appeared. The team all took a simultaneous deep breath and stepped through the gate.

They emerged in the dark. The light from the Stargate itself lit the cavern somewhat, allowing for the appearance of harsh lines caused by stone corners. They were either underground or in a building without corners.

When the gate disengaged, the cavern blacked out completely. Hallie quickly opened and lit a flare.

The cavern was definitely not natural. It was a rectangular shape, with crude paintings of things that looked like people going through what could only be the Stargate. The flare's reach didn't go very far, and the darkness looked very uninviting.

Jordan cleared his throat. "Hello?"

There was no response.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Hello, Hello!" the voice was deep and coarse. "Who disturbs my hibernative sleep cycle?"

"Er...I am Major Shawn Jordan, along with Miss Hallie Colbert and Dr. George Totus. We come to find the Oratrion."

"Then you have come to the wrong place, my friend," the voice replied, "For the Oratrion is no more."

Jordan was taken aback by this. "I was sent by Mottè."

"You come to me before his blood is even cold and expect my help?"

Jordan scowled, not caring how this person knew of Mottè's death. "Show yourself!"

A man stepped into the light. He was old and bedraggled, but seemed, like George, full of energy.

"Listen to my proposal, travelers," he said.

"Why should we?" Jordan snapped back, "If you are not the Oratrion and he is, as you say, no more, then we will be on our way."

"You would do well to listen, for you do not know how to return to Pentavus."

"Is that so?" Jordan said smugly.

Hallie turned to him. "I'm afraid it is."

"WHAT?" Jordan barked, "Can't we just dial the 9th chevron again?"

"Well, sir," she said, "I had forgotten that an ordinary DHD can't handle anything except a 7-chevron code. Thus, it can't handle the power to power the 9th one. We are kinda stuck."

"But I," the man continued, "Have a way of returning there."

Jordan sighed. "What do you propose?"


	8. Story

Pentavus

Chapter 8

"Follow me."

The old man led them down the passages. He was just barely in the flare's light, so he had to have some sort of night-vision.

He led them down a large hallway like passage and then off to several side ones. He finally led them into a living-room like area, with a large bonfire in the center, P_robably more for warmth than light,_ Jordan thought, thinking of the man's night-vision.

They sat around the fire. Jordan sensed the good intentions through his precognition.

Just as the man was about to speak, a boy of about twenty or so stepped out of another side area. "Father, what—" he spotted the team. "Who are these people? More traders?"

The man sighed. "These are travelers, son." He turned to the team. "This is my son, Marcus. I am Orthus Mandraga."

He sighed again. "I wish you to hear of what plagues—even now—the people of Pentavus. The thing that now plagues you, Shawn Jordan."

Shawn grunted slightly at the fact that Orthus already knew his name.

Orthus laughed. "I will have to teach you how to block your private thoughts, Shawn Jordan. I will teach you that when I return to Pentavus with you."

Jordan looked up. "Who said anything about letting you come, old man?"

Orthus reached over and grabbed Jordan by the throat. The others raised their guns, but he hardly seemed to notice. "Listen to me, _little man_. I am the only one who knows how to return you home. I, and I alone, will call the shots. If you expect to survive in this world, _you will need me._" He let go of Jordan and returned to his calm stance.

"Fifteen thousand years ago, when the Chappa'ai was relatively new, the city of Pentavus was created at the all-powerful capital. Thus, many armies and forces rose up against it. The city was built with many defenses, however. It has large laser beams and force shields that protect it from airborne enemies. It has large walls and gates to block out land pursuers. It has the liquid trinium shield over the gate to block attacks from the chappa'ai itself. Also, the ancients bestowed upon the people of Pentavus a great and powerful gift—"

"Their psychic powers," Jordan finished.

"Yes. Well, the forces of evil, who were working separately, struck a bargain and began working together. They became even more powerful and began taking over large portions of the Pentavite Galaxy. They are cunning, powerful, constitute and evil."

"And who is this...evil force?"

"They have one name that is synonymous with death and destruction."

"And what name is that?"

"The Hafters."

"Hafters?"

"Yes. Now, if you will follow me, we must get back to—"

A large crash covered Orthus' last few words. It seemed to get closer.

Orthus scowled at Jordan. "They followed your wormhole's trail. We must get to the Chappa'ai immediately."

They left the area and headed down the passage towards the gate. Orthus grabbed Jordan's shoulder and pressed a small stone disc into his hand. "Get within 100 paces of the gate."

"What is this?"

"Go!"

They hurried along to the last room—the gate room. There, six creatures guarded the gate. Jordan could not make out much, but he saw green skin and a few tentacles.

The team began ducking behind rocks and firing on the creatures. They laughed in a vomitous laugh and stayed right in front of the gate, guarding it.

Right in front of the gate...

Orthus called out to Shawn through the dark. "Little man, are you within a hundred paces?"

"Yes!"

"Activate the disc and press the crystal on the dialing device! It dials the ninth chevron and will send you back to Pentavus!"

Jordan didn't need to be told twice. He rolled out to the DHD and pressed the button on the disc. The dial began to spin. He pressed the green crystal on the DHD and tumbled back out of the way.

The gate activated and the splash formed. However, there happened to be six creatures in the way. The splash burned through them, leaving a burned mess as the event horizon formed. Sighing with relief, Jordan walked up to the gate and stepped through.


	9. Orthus

Pentavus

Chapter 9

Jordan emerged on the other side. Turning, he watched as Orthus, Marcus, Hallie and George ran through

Hallie looked fear-struck. "There's more coming! They're firing and—" a large fiery ball of energy appeared through the event horizon and barely missed Jordan's head. "Lower the shield!!!"

The liquid descended upon the gate. There were clangings and bashings upon it before the wormhole disengaged.

Jordan turned to Orthus. "Thank you for your help, friend. What is this device, anyway?"

Orthus turned toward him. "It sends a signal to the rotating disc and the ninth chevron, activating both. Pressing the dial button on the dialing device tells it to dial the home symbol. Thus, if you had pressed any other button, it would have dialed that single symbol and would have caused an error."

Orthus blinked in a friendly way. It was only now that Jordan noticed that his eyes were clouded over and white.

"Orthus," Jordan said on a hunch, "Are you blind?"

He smiled. "I have been these past twenty-five years. But I am not useless, nor am I fragile—for I possess a 'second sight', if you will. Thus, I can fight as well as any man alive. I request to join your Pentavus Team."

Jordan sighed. "I will take your request under consideration. In the meantime, perhaps, you might be kind enough to follow 8us to the conference room. You have told us of our enemies, but you have told us nothing of yourself. Or the Oratrion."

* * *

"I was once a member of the Pentavus team, Little Man," Orthus began, "In charge of determining weapons against the Hafters. I did my duty for many years. Then, quite by accident, I found it."

Jordan shifted. "Found what?"

"_The Poison_. First, know this...the group of Hafters who attacked Pentavus today were a special group known as the Methra. They are quite extraordinary creatures. Every single one of them shares all brain patterns with a main, central being—their king. They feel no pain except the King's, and cannot be killed whilst the king himself is alive.

"But I devised a _poison_. _The Poison_. It is powerful enough to send a Methra to near-death and knock him out of your way...and is also powerful enough to kill their king."

Orthus sighed. "However, _The Poison _was too powerful. It killed not only the victim, but the attacker as well. It was powerful enough to wipe out any species in the universe.

"But I did not know this. I naively fed the poison to a Methra we had captured. I killed everyone within the lab except myself an two technicians who escaped. I was brought to trial and banished—"

"—to P7X-BB3," Jordan finished.

"Yes."

"And what of the Oratrion?"

"The Oratrion was an oracle, Little Man. Sent from his own people, he—"

Jordan cleared his throat. "Skip all the shit, Orthus. You are the Oratrion. Tell us what we must do."

Orthus looked highly disgruntled at not being able to tell another story. "You must find the king. You must kill him and thus end the lives of every Methra in the entire universe. This will not only satisfy your vengeance for Mottè, but also weaken the forces of the Hafters. You must take some of _The Poison_ and go to a planet whose address I know by heart, and use the poison on the king. You must do so soon, or they will know that survivors exist on Pentavus and come after you."

Jordan looked around at Pentavus-1.

"My son will accompany you to this place, Little Man. I have taught him much, and he will serve you well."

Jordan shifted and looked at Marcus, who seemed to be listening intently. "Very well. Then we should begin at once."

* * *

"Chevron Seven is located. Chevron Seven is locked."

The splash formed and the event horizon blew into view. The team had restocked and was ready to go. This Stargate, Orthus said, led to a planet so far from a sun that they lived deep in the planet's natural warmth, below the surface, for to step upon the surface was an instant, icy death.

Jordan took a deep breath and plunged through the wormhole's surface.


	10. Passage

Pentavus

Chapter 10

Again he felt that queasy feeling as Jordan emerged from the puddle. He was surprised as his eyes met an orange light, and as they adjusted he saw that the light was in fact coming from the rocks themselves. Here and there, a 'bulb' rock glowed, lighting the passages.

Jordan looked back at the Stargate. It was obviously of a different network than that on earth—the yellow chevrons and odd design gave that away easily.

"Damn hot, isn't it?" George grunted as he, too emerged.

"So true." Marcus uttered the first words he had since his travel to Pentavus.

It was indeed sweltering. The air was moist and it made the heat stifling. Jordan was about to remove his outer Kevlar before he realized where he was.

He was somewhere evil.

Jordan dug his hand into his pocket and grasped the small packet. It contained ten bottles of _The Poison_ and several clips of ammunition coated in it. He removed one of the clips and loaded it into his gun. The others, who had similar packets with them, did the same as the gate disengaged.

He looked around. "Well, let's go." They headed down the passage.

Marcus suddenly threw out a hand. "No."

Jordan looked at him. "What is it?"

Marcus pointed at a few stones lining the passage. They were sparkly and purple. "Nocca stones."

"What?"

Marcus looked at him gravely. "Father told me of these. Watch." He removed a small pebble from his coat and tossed it down the passage.

The purple rocks suddenly shuddered and leapt up, grabbing the pebble with large teeth and mouths that appeared in the side. Then, realizing that the pebble was inedible, they spat it back towards Marcus.

Marcus looked at them sheepishly. "Very dangerous things. We shouldn't go this way."

George coughed. "Ya think?"

They headed back to the Stargate and passed through it down the other passage.

* * *

_My liege, they have arrived._

_Good. Bring them to me._

_They are armed with weapons that—_

_Our weapons are far superior. And we are one. While I live, you live._

_They have _The Poison

_Let them come. They will not defeat me.

* * *

_

"Is it me," George remarked, "Or is it just _a bit _too quiet here, you know, surrounded by darkness and evil?"

Right on cue, the Methra appeared, carrying large, complicated-looking weapons. They were dressed alike, and looked like green humans wrapped in aluminum foil.

"You-will-come-with-us," the creature said in its robotic voice.

Jordan sneered. "I doubt it."

"You-will-come-with-us-now."

"Again, I don't think so."

He raised his _Poison_-loaded gun and fired. Dodging out of the way as not to be hit by the laser blasts, he opened fire again as Pentavus-1 scattered behind rocks. The first three went down easily.

Hallie and George opened fire as well. Six more went down just as ten more appeared from the passage.

Marcus pulled from his pocket a small, spherical device. He turned it on and tossed it. "Cover your ears!"

They all did so just as the blast went off. Then there was silence.

Jordan raised his head and removed his hands from his ears. The Methra were all lying, unconscious, on the cave floor.

Jordan picked up the device and handed it to Marcus. "What is that?"

"It is a frequency conveyor. It sends out a signal that disrupts the Methra's thought processes, rendering them unconscious."

"Nice."

They continued down the passage until they reached a dead end.

Jordan and Hallie sighed. "Okay," George said, "There's killer rocks on one side and a dead end on the other. What now?"

A voice called out from above them. "THIS!!!"

Pentavus-1 didn't even get a chance to look up before they were enveloped in darkness.


	11. Riddles

Pentavus

Chapter 11

"Shawn."

Jordan opened his eyes very reluctantly. Above him something glittered. It looked like gold.

"Shawn. Wake up."

He blinked. The gold turned into a pair of gold glasses. Weird.

"Shawn."

He blinked again and a worried face came into view. "Hallie?"

"Yep."

"Where...are we?"

"I don't know."

"That's helpful."

Jordan sat up, slowly, and looked around. They were in a solid room. No windows, no doors. Just solid concrete (or the alien equivalent of concrete).

Wincing from some muscle pain, Jordan stood up. His Kevlar was gone. So was _The Poison_.

He walked up to the wall. Solid. He cursed under his breath.

Suddenly, a voice called out from above. "Welcome to this place of non-logic. Here, you will see how the logical is the weak. Logic is weakness in this place. Use un-logic. Use un-reason.

"You are in a room with no windows, no doors, and solid walls and ceiling and floor. You have a baseball bat and a baseball. What do you do?"

A wooden baseball and bat appeared in the center of the room, floating in the air.

Hallie coughed. "This is freaky."

George nodded. "and what's this crap about un-logic and un-reason?"

Jordan suddenly lit up. "It's riddle. Here, take the ball, Hallie."

She took it as he picked up the bat. He nodded. "Now toss the ball at me."

She threw the ball and Jordan purposely missed.

George sneered. "Jordan, why did you—"

"Shut up, George." He picked up the ball and tossed it to her. "Again."

She tossed it again and he missed again. "Once more."

She readied the ball and he smiled. "Three strikes..." He missed again. "And you're out!"

* * *

There was a flash of light. Suddenly, they were all in a very dark room. Jordan noted the night-vision goggles around his neck and he put them on. He could see some things around the room.

"You are in a dark room," The voice said. "And before you are a fireplace, a stove, a candle, and a match. Which do you light first?"

Hallie laughed. "That's simple." She took the sulfur match and struck it against the floor. "The match. Can't you do something a little more challenging?"

"_Gladly._"

Jordan rolled his eyes as there was another flash of light. "Nice going, Hallie."

* * *

Suddenly they were standing on a cliff.

"What is it that all people love more than life?" the voice said, "Hate more than death or mortal strife? What is it that the contented desire, the poor have, and the rich require? The miser will spend, the spendthrift will save, and all do carry into the grave? The answer is right in front of you."

Marcus cleared his throat. "There is but one answer," he said confidently, "And that is...nothing."

"That is quite correct," The voice said, "And now you shall find what you seek."

* * *

There was another flash of light, and Pentavus-1 stood in the high throne room.

"Welcome," the king said, rising, "Welcome, travelers. Welcome, to your fate."


	12. Attack and Ascension

Pentavus

Chapter 12

The King stood, surveying them with his grey eyes. "My Methra soldiers have told me much about you. You Pentavus creatures have violated my territory for the last time. It is fortunate you survived the mind torture and the riddles…or I would not be able to kill you myself. Hm."

Pentavus-1 was frozen in place. The King seemed to be trapping all of them in place with his mind as he gave his long lecture. "You have no idea, Pentavus, how long I have wanted…"

Then, the answer came. _Shawn Jordan. I am here._

Shawn summoned all of his telepathic power and sent a message out across the ethers. _Mottè?_ Shawn asked.

_Yes._

_How can you—?_

_I am not dead, Shawn Jordan. I have become greater._

_Greater?_ Shawn asked. _Greater? What does that mean?_

Hallie joined the conversation. _Ascended, Shawn. He has been ascended, like the Ancients before him._

Shawn could almost hear Mottè nod. _Yes. I give you these gifts…_Shawn felt his muscles loosen as he was released_…I release you from your bonds. I also give you the key…_And Shawn felt something fall into his hands behind his back_…to your victory._

It was _The Poison_.

Slowly and silently, Shawn, who was in the back of the group and less noticeable, began to load the _poison_ into his gun. The _Poison, _once added, would coat each outgoing bullet with the substance.

"…what you did not realize, Pentavus," the King was saying, "was that I had a few tricks…" He waved his arm, and Hallie flew through the air, her neck landing in his outstretched hand. He held her there, hanging. "…up my sleeve."

A small tinkling distracted him. The empty _poison_ bottle had fallen to the floor. Shawn stood, his gun pointed straight at the Methra king. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve, too."

The king dropped Hallie and turned to face Shawn. "You would dare defy me? Even with your friend Mottè's help?"

So he knew somehow. But that didn't matter. Shawn pulled the hammer back and fired. The king, in one movement, eached up and caught the bullet before waving his arm again. The gun flew to his outstretched hand. "Hm. Interesting. Farewell, Shawn Jordan." He pointed the gun at Shawn. He pulled the hammer back and—

_Bang._

The king turned around. There behind him, stood Marcus, holding the real _Poison_-loaded gun.

"Come now," Shawn said smugly, "You didn't think I'd try to kill you by myself? Did you?"

The king sputtered. "Interesting…" and then he collapsed.

_And everywhere in the universe a Methra stood, they died._

The Pentavus team barely had time to register their victory before the whole room began to shake.

Shawn looked at Marcus. "What's happening?"

"The whole planet is powered by the King's life force. We have to get out of here."

"Okay. EVERYBODY OUT!"

* * *

They ran down the passage toward the Stargate. The tunnel was slowly shrinking as dirt and dust began to fill the floor.

"RUN!!!"

They reached the gate. Shawn pulled the dialer from his pocket and pressed the button. The Gate's dial began to spin.

"Dial Home!" George hit the yellow crystal and the gate opened. In a moment, they were through.

* * *

Shawn and the others emerged in the Pentavus gate room.

"Shut it down!"

The gate disengaged and all were safe.

For now.


	13. Epilogue

Pentavus

Epilogue

"We will never forget them."

Shawn was standing at the podium, the entire population of Pentavus (around thirty people) before him.

"We will not forget them because they gave their lives for our safety. Mottè himself gave us the powers entrusted to him and the others by the ancients themselves. They did this so that the power and the responsibility of the great Pentavus Stargate would never fall into the wrong hands."

Shawn cleared his throat as he looked around the room. "I know that many of you want to return home. But we, as Pentavus, have been entrusted with the conscientiousness that comes with such responsibility as a power like the Pentavus Gate. But if we band together, and use this power properly, this planet, this city, can become our home. Our new home."

The people before him nodded and some even applauded.

"Next, I would like to announce the addition of Marcus Mandraga to the P-1 team."

The audience applauded again and Marcus approached the stage and received his badge before resuming his seat.

"Finally—" but then there was a large churning sound as the gate began to activate.

"EVERYBODY CLEAR THE WAY!" Shawn said, grabbing the podium and microphone and dashing out of the way. "Clear the way for the splash!"

The crowd quickly parted. "Lower the shield!"

As the shield hardened, the gate activated. There was a loud sound as things crashed against the trinium barrier, and then the gate disengaged.

Shawn was in his element. "Michaels! Raise the shield! Robinson! Track that wormhole to its source! Gerard! Get this gate back online! Hallie! George! Come with me." He turned to go up the stairs to the briefing room. "We've got a lot of work to do."

* * *

_We are not the Earth's last line of defense. The earth is too miniscule to matter in the picture we now see._

_We are the _Universe's _last line of defense._

_When we stepped though the gate into the city known as Pentavus, the capital of the Universe, we did not know what would come to pass. We did not know the responsibility that would be handed to us. But now it is ours, and it is ours to keep. We are the Universe's last line of defense._

_We cannot fail._

_**We cannot fail.**_

-- Shawn Jordan, Pentavus


End file.
